


homemade safety net

by amberg93



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - No Bending (Avatar TV), Found Family, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-05
Updated: 2021-01-05
Packaged: 2021-03-15 06:54:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,778
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28559403
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/amberg93/pseuds/amberg93
Summary: When Zuko decides to leave his life behind and start anew at a university far from home, he doesn't expect things to be that different for him. That is until he starts meeting new people and suddenly he finds himself making a home where he didn't expect to.
Relationships: Sokka/Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 8
Kudos: 85





	homemade safety net

**Author's Note:**

> This was written for the Avatar New Year's Gift Exchange over on Tumblr for user @yeahboomerang. They asked for a found family university sort of coming of age deal with bonus Hakoda. I can only hope that they enjoy it. 
> 
> The title comes from Two Boys Kissing and the quote about making a mix and match family.

It started with Aang. 

When Zuko had decided, party through his sophomore year of college that he had to get out of his family's grasp, he'd started putting aside money slowly into an account that he would be able to use to pay for the rest of his schooling. Well, and he'd worked hard to make grades that would get him a scholarship anywhere he wanted to go. He didn't actually care where he ended up, he just wanted to be away from his father and sister and everyone who had known him his entire life. He'd considered going to live with Uncle Iroh but even that felt like too much attachment to his life that he was trying to get away. 

So when he left to a new city with no connections and a limited amount of money stashed away, he knew he was going to need a roommate. Not knowing what else to do, he posted online in the university Facebook page. Aang was the one who had responded, also looking for a roommate as he was about to start at university as well, though as a freshman. 

He was young, he'd skipped a grade back in elementary school and then had been one of those kids whose birthday was by the cutoff for starting dates. It'd made Zuko initially uneasy to think about rooming with someone a few years younger than him but Aang was kind and excited about the possibility of getting to know Zuko better and they had a similar budget in mind. 

Which was how he ended up signing a one year lease on an apartment in a city he'd never been to with a person he'd never met face to face. It was nerve-wracking to say the least going from the airport and taking city transportation to the place where he'd be spending the next year. But when he arrived, Aang was already waiting for him there. He'd picked up a cake at the store and written in sloppy letters across it 'Aang and Zuko's roommate adventure!' 

"Thank you?" Zuko wasn't sure what the procedure was here. 

"No problem buddy," Aang had grinned widely. "I have a feeling this is the start of a beautiful friendship."

Zuko wasn't so sure, but he gave Aang a polite smile and then went to his room to set his things up. He still didn't know how things were going to go when it came to the day to day living with Aang but at least he was nice to begin with. 

As it turned out, a month into living with Aang, Zuko was very grateful for his roommate. The two of them had developed an easy sort of routine with one another. They kept the common areas tidy without needing to remind the other, they didn't take one another's food without being invited to do so and were respectful of one another's sleeping schedules. Honestly, Zuko felt like he'd won some sort of roommate lottery. 

They would sometimes eat dinners together or hang out in the living room together, watching documentaries about various animals. Aang felt like the first friend that Zuko had really made. 

Maybe that was why when he started to bring Katara over, he didn't immediately take to the young woman. She was nice enough, though very passionate and opinionated about many things that she didn't feel the need to stop herself from starting in about. Zuko didn't know how to act around her and he often felt like he was intruding in his own apartment when she was over because it was very very obvious that Aang had a huge crush on her. 

Not in the least because whenever she left, Aang would sit back and sigh, "Katara is amazing, isn't she?" 

"Uh, sure." What else was he supposed to say?

Aang made other friends too, quite a few of them and they started showing up at the apartment without warning. It seemed that people were just drawn to his happy personality and while Zuko couldn't blame them it did mean he suddenly was around many more people than he wanted to be. 

An eccentric Senior named Bumi that Zuko had no clue how to speak to because he spoke in strange riddles. An engineering student named Teo who was nice but spoke way too much about his major and always ended up leaving Zuko feeling like he had no clue what was going on. An activist friend of Katara's named Jet that seemed interested in Katara for more than friendship but Aang was determined to be nice to him anyway - and who, maybe, Zuko could understand being attracted to in Katara's shoes. 

The first friend that Zuko had brought home was Toph. The two of them had ended up sitting together in the same table by accident during one busy afternoon at a tea shop just off campus when Zuko had left his book on a table to go to the bathroom and she'd sat down thinking the table was empty. 

At first he'd been annoyed as he approached the table. "Can't you see this table is taken?" he'd demanded to the young woman who was sitting facing toward the window. 

Then she'd turned her head toward him and he saw that he'd done screwed up. "I can't see anything, Sparky," she'd snarked back. 

"Right..." Because what the hell did you say to that? "I'm sorry. I had just gotten up to use the bathroom but I was sitting here." 

"Well Bandit indicated that the table was empty so I'm sitting here now."

For a moment Zuko was confused but then he glanced down and saw a service dog laying underneath the table quietly. That must be Bandit. He looked like a good boy and Zuko felt the urge to pet him, but of course, he knew that he couldn't. 

Glancing around all the other tables were full though so he wasn't sure what to do at this point. He'd ordered another tea and it should be coming soon. Maybe he could ask for it to go?

"Oh just sit down if this is the only table. There's no reason we can't share it," she waved her hand impatiently at him. 

"Okay." 

For a while they'd sat in silence and then Toph just started talking and Zuko found himself responding. She was brash and opinionated but very funny. She didn't seem to care that he wasn't that great at conversation and he was grateful for it. When they parted ways he felt a bit sorry to do so, instead of the usual relief he felt when he could get out of a social situation. 

As it so happened, they ran into one another again at the tea shop and it sort of became a regular thing for the two of them to take tea together when they were in at the same time. She even gave her number to him and they started to text back and forth until he invited her over for a game night that Aang was hosting. 

"Everyone, this is Toph," he introduced her when she turned up. Aang, Katara, Haru and Teo were already present and they all greeted her. 

"Sup losers, what am I gonna beat you at tonight?"

Aang simply laughed and told her that they were going to play catchphrase. Which they did, in teams of three and he, Teo and Toph even ended up winning. By the end of the night Toph had managed to endear herself to Aang, although she and Katara seemed to clash. 

Still, she became a staple at the game nights that they had and besides Aang she was one of the only people that would text Zuko. 

Then one night Katara brought her brother with her to game night.

"Can you get the door please?" Aang asked while he was in the midst of setting out some snacks. 

"Sure." 

Zuko had expected Katara because she was always the first person to arrive. What he wasn't expecting was for her to show up with the most attractive man that he'd ever seen. Clearly related to her, he was the same dark skin and hair with an angular face that had no right to be so sharp. All Zuko could do was stare for a moment, wondering how a model like person had ended up in his doorway. 

"Hello, Zuko?" Katara waved her hand toward him and he realized that he was staring with an awful red flush. 

"Sorry," he muttered. "Come in." And moved aside to let the two of them in. 

"Oh, Sokka! Good to see that you made it," Aang said brightly. "I'm glad that Katara talked you into it." 

"Talked him into it. More like I showed him a picture and-" Katara's voice was cut off by her brother's hand slapping over her mouth and him shooting her a dark look. 

"Could you not?" he asked hurriedly, a bit of color coming to his cheeks. "Eww gross, Katara!" Quickly, he pulled his hand away from her mouth and looked at her in disgust. It seemed like she might have licked him. 

"Don't put your hand over my mouth and I won't have to resort to drastic measures." 

What that was about, Zuko had no idea but he was simply doing his best to not stare at the handsome stranger. Aang looked amused, a light smile tugging at his lips as he looked at Sokka. 

"Zuko, this is Katara's brother, Sokka. Sokka, this is my roommate, Zuko." The younger man gestured between the two of them. 

Sokka turned and offered Zuko a smile that made his heart beat strangely. Oh no. He was not cut out to be looked at like this and he wasn't sure what to do. So, he did the only thing that he could do. 

"Nice to meet you," he said quietly with an awkward nod. "I've got to use the restroom."

Hiding in his own bathroom was a bit extreme. Yes. But it was all that he could think to do to collect himself a bit. It would have been appreciated if he had gotten a heads up that Katara was going to bring her insanely attractive brother over for the game night. Now his fear was that he was going to make himself look like an idiot in front of him. 

Taking a deep breath he looked at himself in the mirror and then almost cringed away at his reflection. Besides the scar that marred half of his face, his face was weirdly flushed in places and his eyes looked wide and panicked. "There's no way anything will happen, so I might as well just go out there," he told himself and then listened to his own advice. 

When he came back out, Toph had already arrived and it seemed that Teo had as well as they were both at the table already, Bandit settled down by Toph's feet as usual.

"All done making yourself pretty, Sparky?"

"Sparky?" Sokka questioned, looking between Toph and Zuko. 

"He's a bit of a hothead." Toph shrugged, continuing to speak over Zuko's protests that he was not. "First time I saw him he tried to go off on me for stealing his table because I didn't see his stuff on it."

"I am not a hot head," he argued. "Aang, tell them."

His roommate gave a small smile as he rubbed the back of his neck. "Well..." he trailed off meaningfully. "What about the time with the mail?"

"Justified! They were stealing your packages." Honestly, why Aang hadn't been more upset was the baffling part of that situation. 

"The dog next door?" 

"No one should be allowed to keep a dog in these small apartments to begin with and certainly not if the dog is going to bark all night long." Some people had to study and sleep. 

"The leftover incident?" Katara threw in dryly. 

"You shouldn't have been eating food you didn't know belonged to Aang!" He threw up his hands in defeat, suddenly annoyed with Katara all over again for eating his leftover bao. 

"Kinda sounds like you're a hothead, man," Sokka answered, his tone amused. 

Zuko levelled a glare in his direction. Attractive or not this guy didn't know him. 

"Hence, Sparkly. Now, if you're done whining, I believe we had a game we were supposed to be playing?" Toph was far too smug for Zuko's liking and he vowed right then that he was going ot take her down tonight. 

As fate would have it, he wasn't able to beat Toph. Sokka did manage to secure a victory. It turned out that in addition to being attractive, he was smart, quite a strategist and worst of all actually kind of funny. Though Zuko did not want to show that he found him so because he was clearly one of those people that thought themselves to be hilarious. 

When the game had wound down, he'd made his way into the kitchen to get himself a refill on his drink. 

"So, you played well," a voice came from behind him, startling Zuko and making him spill some of the beverage down his front. 

Blushing, he reached for the kitchen towel and dried off his shirt as he spun to face Sokka who stood looking at him intently. "Not really," he answered. He hadn't even come close to winning. 

"I think you did." 

"You're the one who won," Zuko pointed out a bit confusedly. 

"Yeah, well," Sokka gave a half shrug. "I usually win games like these." He spoke it with the ease of someone telling an absolute fact. "But anyway, I was wondering if maybe you wanted to... I don't know, do an activity together or something."

Blinking, the lighter man tilted his head in confusion. "An activity?"

"Uh, yeah, you know. Like, go out to dinner or see a movie or um, maybe, hit an arcade or something?" Though the words were spoken steadily there was something in the way that Sokka shifted on his feet and averted his eyes a couple of times while speaking that made him seem nervous. 

"Do you mean like... a date?" It seemed like that was what he'd been trying to get at but spirits knew he could have been wrong about that. 

"I mean, that was sort of the point. Yeah." Now their eyes met and Zuko could see that he was serious. 

The surprise must have shown on his face because he could feel himself staring a bit blankly. How in the world had this been the outcome? He was wary of accepting such good things straight away but the longer that he waited the thicker the silence seemed to grow. "Sure." 

Now a blinding bright smile crossed the darker man's features. "Great. Great. Why don't we exchange numbers and then we can figure out when we can meet up." 

It shouldn't have been that easy, but it was. 

They began texting one another and then went on a date then one date became two and two became three and suddenly Sokka was coming over to the apartment often and Zuko was visiting Sokka's apartment that he shared with Katara and an ex-girlfriend named Suki who scared Zuko a little bit because she had done her own version of a shovel talk that was only her sending over a video compilation of the martial arts that she was skilled in with the caption 'what I'll do to you if you hurt Sokka'. 

Even so, it'd been less scary than when after she'd returned from the winter break that had taken her and her brother home (and left Zuko mostly hanging around the apartment besides a brief visit to his uncle) Katara had pulled him aside.

"Zuko, I know that Aang likes you a lot and he trusts you and says that you're a good person, but I swear that I can and will throw you into the ocean tied to a block of cement if you do anything to break my brother's heart." Her eyes had blazed as she gripped his shirt and pulled him down to her level. 

"Why would I do that?" he questioned, partly irritated and partly terrified at the power that Katara seemed to ooze. 

"I don't know and I don't care. I'm just telling you now, don't hurt him." Then she'd let go of his shirt and given him a hard glare before she'd gone to Aang's room. 

He'd decided that he needed to tell Aang how scary his (maybe?) girlfriend was after that and tried to avoid being alone with her because he could tell that she fully did not trust him. 

The only thing that made him feel better was when Sokka confided that Toph had given her own version of a verbal shakedown that had left the other man also fearing a little for his life. 

It was possible, though it couldn't be proven, that Zuko teared up hearing about that because it meant that Toph cared enough to speak up for him. Wisely, he did not ask her about it because he knew that she was never going to confirm it. 

But things continued, a happy group of friends that was sometimes larger and sometimes smaller but always consisted of the core group which soon grew to include Suki at all times because she and Toph got along great as well. Of course, Aang loved her because he loved everyone and despite the whole shovel talk even Zuko could appreciate her presence. She was smart, funny in more of a dry way and very good at listening. 

By the time that spring break was getting close Zuko was not looking forward to it. He knew that Katara and Sokka were going home to visit their family and Katara had invited Aang along. Suki also was invited, as she had been every year since freshman year. 

That left Zuko and Toph, as well as the extended gang to spend their time together during the break. It wasn't like Zuko could afford to go anywhere and Toph seemed to be in a similar boat though he didn't really know her full situation. 

Zuko had picked up some extra shifts at work, figuring that it would keep him busy during his off time. At least until he was talking to Sokka a couple of weeks before the break was set to start. 

"We're planning on getting a very early start, so you and Aang will have to be ready for us to pick you up on time. Katara will be in a bad mood if we get started later," Sokka explained from his spot on the couch, curled up against his boyfriend. 

"I will have to be ready?" He searched his brain for any time that Sokka had indicated in the slightest that he wanted Zuko to come home with him during spring break. 

"Well, yeah, we can't leave without you." 

"You want me to come with you?" His throat was feeling strangely tight. 

Sokka turned to look at him in surprise. "Well yeah, we're bringing the whole gang. You, Aang, Toph, my dad's looking forward to meeting all of you."

"Oh. Okay. Uh, I didn't know that. I'll have to see if someone will take my shifts." Someone would. There were always people looking for hours. Still, the idea that he'd been automatically been thought of to join in made his heart feel heavy in a way. 

"I'm sorry. I thought that I'd asked you," Sokka frowned. "It just didn't seem right to leave the rest of you here while we're heading back home."

"Don't apologize. I just- I didn't want to assume that because Katara was bringing Aang that you'd bring me." Aang and Katara had technically been dating less time than them but he wasn't going to compare their relationships. 

"No, of course. I should have actually asked you to come along. Do you want to?" Now Sokka was looking a touch uncertain. 

"Yes." Maybe he was a bit too quick in saying so but if he was his boyfriend didn't say anything about it. Instead he looked at him with relief. 

"Good," Sokka smiled and then leaned in to kiss him and suddenly he was looking forward to break a lot more than he had been before. 

That was how he found himself in Sokka's old minivan, somehow in the very back with Suki and Bandit because Katara had snagged the middle seat for herself and Aang while Toph had jumped into the front seat before anyone else could do anything about it. 

"Wouldn't it make more sense for you to sit in the back with Bandit?" he'd asked, hoping that he'd be able to sit close to Sokka on the lengthy job. 

"Vest is off, he's off duty. He doesn't need to be next to me. I think he'd appreciate having some time with new people," Toph had answered and then put her feet up onto the dashboard and leaned back into the seat that she'd adjusted to lean back. 

"Get your feet off of my dashboard," Sokka grumbled, swatting at the short girl's legs. 

"Make me." 

"This is my car, Toph and I say that you can't put your feet up on the dash."

"Pretty lame that you drive a minivan." Toph taunted, not removing her feet. 

"I'll have you know that it was handed down from my father and you're lucky I drive a van because otherwise you'd be smushed into the back of a shitty car," Sokka snapped. 

"Toph, it's really not safe to put your feet up on the dashboard," Katara threw in and though Zuko couldn't see her from his vantage he knew that she'd be giving what he had come to think of as the 'mothering look'. The one she got when she was telling anyone in the group something that would normally be told by a mother. 

"Okay, mom," Toph replied sarcastically, slowly lowering her feet back to the ground. "Are you happy now."

"I'm just trying to keep you safe," Katara sniffed. 

"Yeah yeah. Let's get this show on the road. You said it was a long drive and I am ready to be there." 

In the backseat, Zuko allowed himself to pet Bandit when he rested his head on his lap, smiling at the dog who seemed happy to have his attention. Suki chatted with him about what he planned on doing over the summer while Katara and Aang spoke quietly with one another. Up front he could hear Toph and Sokka debating about what made a proper playlist. 

At some point during the drive, Toph started a debate about if a hot dog was a sandwich or not which quickly dissolved into a whole van discussion on the matter with Sokka, Katara and Zuko falling on the side of not a sandwich and Toph, Aang and Suki falling on the side of it definitely being a sandwich. 

"You don't even know what a hot dog looks like!" Sokka pointed out after a particularly brutal comment from Toph about them learning what definitions meant. 

"And yet I understand them better than you do, apparently." 

The debate raged on for the rest of the drive. 

When the van finally stopped at the house some hours later, after a gas and bathroom break, everyone gratefully piled out and Zuko got his first look at the place. It wasn't an intimidating house by any means. It was average sized, if a bit small even, with plain white siding and a screen door before the real front door. 

"Here we are, home sweet home," Sokka announced. 

For all that Toph had said Bandit would appreciate some other company, he immediately made his way over to his owner and headbutted at her hand. Toph pet him idly. "Looks great."

"Thanks," Sokka turned to give her a smile that then slid off his face. "Wait a minute-"

Pretty much the whole group burst into laughter, Zuko included because, well, it was pretty funny. 

"Betrayed by everyone," Sokka was saying dramatically. "Even my own boyfriend."

Zuko moved to press a light kiss against the other guy's cheek. "It was funny," he allowed. 

The front door opened and out stepped a tall man, who looked to be so obviously Sokka and Katara's father that Zuko couldn't help but stare. The resemblance between them all was so strong and he suddenly found himself a bit nervous that he wouldn't be liked by the man. 

"Are you gonna come in to see us or all you all just going to stand around out here?" he asked and though his voice was deeper than Sokka's he managed the same sort of teasing tone that his son always used. 

"Dad!" Katara grinned and made her way over to give a large hug to him. 

"Katara, it's so good to have you home." He'd enveloped her into a hug as well, clinging to her. "I've missed you."

"We've missed you too."

Sokka was the next to go and hug and greet his father, Zuko hanging back in the same way that Aang had, near Toph as the family had their own small reunion. 

"Hakoda," Suki strode up and gave the man a hug of her own though it was markedly shorter than the others had been. "Thanks for having me again."

"Of course, you know you're always welcome here, Suki." He sounded so genuine when he said it that Zuko wondered if the man wished that Sokka was still dating her. "Now, who else made the journey."

Aang was the first to step up, offering a wide smile to his girlfriend's father. "Hello, I'm Aang," he said, going in for a hug. 

It was a bold move and Zuko found himself holding his breath. to see how it would play out. 

Luckily for Aang, it seemed to have worked because Hakoda laughed and let an arm wrap around the slender freshman. "Nice to meet you Aang. I've heard amazing things about you. I hope they're true."

"I hope so too, sir," Aang said and pulled back with the smile that Zuko was sure no one could dislike. Everyone ended up taking a liking to Aang at one point or another so he shouldn't have been surprised that he managed to win over the father so easily. 

On the other hand, Zuko knew that people took much longer to warm up to him. If they ever did at all. He found himself hesitating to go forward. "Toph," he hissed. "Come greet Sokka's dad with me."

The short woman laughed. "No." Then she strode forward with amazing accuracy considering that Bandit wasn't hooked up to his harness. She'd told him once that she knew how to orient herself with sound and he always was taken aback by how well she did. "I'm Toph. This is Bandit."

"Very nice to meet you, Toph." Hakoda didn't bother trying to go for any physical contact. "Is there anything we need to prepare for Bandit to make him comfortable?"

"Nah, he's fine. I could use the restroom though if anyone wants to take me there" 

"Come on, I'll show you," Katara said and made her way into the house. 

"Can't show me anything, Sugar Queen." 

This left Zuko to go and make his introductions. With a hard swallow he crossed the distance to where Sokka was still standing with his father and held out his hand. "Hello. Thank you for inviting me to stay in your home." He was stiff, overly polite in the way that he had been taught growing up. 

The older man eyed him as he took his hand, giving it a firm shake. "You must be Zuko."

Zuko flushed realizing that he'd forgotten to even introduce himself. "Yes, that's me."

A tense moment passed before Hakoda gave a smile. "Welcome, Zuko. Why don't you come inside and we can get you all settled in before dinner."

"Did Gran Gran cook?" Sokka was eager, in the way that he always was when there was food involved. 

"She made all of your favorites," Hakoda said with a nod. 

"Yes!" Sokka wrapped a hand around Zuko's and pulled him toward the door. "You're in for a real treat. It's gonna be amazing." 

Allowing himself to be pulled into the house, Zuko took a moment to believe it. Inside the house felt warm and welcoming and as Zuko took it in he felt like he was going to enjoy the week that he'd be spending here.   
  
Not in the least because of the people that he'd be spending it with. 


End file.
